First time attending the local @cryptomondayssanjuan meetup put on by @jfhaft and was surprised, but excited, to reconnect with fellow cypherpunk #VirtualGrowth 🧙♂️ and spent some time at the penthouse discussing an upcoming (private) mastermind meetup on Thursday #superconnectors #virtual #growth #chase #ideas #chaseideas #crypto #defi #nft #blockchain #meetingoftheminds (at Laguna De Condado) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSHHsY1LpPL/?utm_medium=tumblr
📻 Celebrating World Radio Day with fascinating people at the Tower Club in Fort Lauderdale! 🌎 📻 Thank you Mindy Figueroa @mindyfig2015 and Michael Ralby for your generosity of spirit and for sharing your brilliance! Shine on! #ListenForTheClues #SuperConnectors #WorldRadioDay #Entrepreneurs #Innovators #Latin2Latin #Influencers #BusinessTalk #JanieFloresLive #BuenaVidaMedia (at Tower Club - Fort Lauderdale) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8htppSAV14/?igshid=gy5mk57o5nv4
The secret habit of highly effective people: how to be a superconnector
I’ve been meaning to write about this topic for a while, and my inspiration was finally pushed over the line after reading a recent blog post of one of our earliest investors in OneTouch and now good friend Nicholas Gruen (first published in the Sydney Morning Herald).
Anyone that knows me truly well knows that I can’t stand being alone.
Having now formally made the transition from the finance world to running a funded startup though, I can definitively state that the main reason why we have been able to come so far along on our journey is through the introductions that have been made to us, and the new relationships we have formed as a result. I learned the whole art of referring people throughout my time as a mortgage broker – whether I was referring my clients to a property lawyer to handle their settlement, or referring a building inspector to check the property for termites or structural defects, the good old “I know a guy…” line not only gave off the appearance of being superconnected, it actually gave my clients a better and more complete service. In fact, the very nature of a mortgage broker’s job is to refer and recommend clients to take out a loan from a particular bank, and to be a successful broker, you need to build what we call in the industry quite bluntly “referral sources”! (Although an automated document processing application should also help you get there).
Anyway, I’ve previously written how in Silicon Valley, you could have a meeting with a total stranger (or at least a 2nd degree connection) then following the meeting they will introduce you to 5 people who they think will be able to assist you on your journey. I’ve now launched into the networking thing in a big way, and anyone who sees me these days will probably notice the introductions flying into overdrive. Whether or not I have created any relationships of value thus far, it’s probably a little too early to tell, but it certainly feels like I’m doing something right owing to the number of reciprocal introductions I’m receiving, and the amount of fun I’m having meeting all these new and interesting people.
And to digress slightly, the whole concept of creating relationships that add value is why organisations such as the AICC Young Business Forum (‘YBF’) and Investors Inc have become such a huge part of my life. I first came to a YBF event around 18 months ago, and never before had I been in an environment with so many like-minded and ambitious people. The relationships I’ve built through the YBF I know I will have for a long, long time. And as for Investors Inc, essentially we are running an experiment on what would happen if we mixed a whole group of amazingly successful investors together (the insiders amongst us know that the INC actually stands for). It turns out so far that no matter how successful you are, people still want a sense of belonging, because for many of us, entrepreneurship can be a long and lonely road, and it can get especially lonely when you get to the top (at least, I imagine it would). My own personal observation of the launch event was that although it appeared that some of the attendees may have already known each other for many years, many had lost contact for whatever reason and our event was a wonderful way to bring them back together again.
How to be a Superconnector
So as a reward for making it this far into the post, I’ll now share my secrets with you. It’s really not rocket science though. I talk in the context of startups, but it really applies to any business setting. When meeting a new person, assuming you want to build a relationship with them, you simply need to get an understanding of what it is they are trying to achieve. Then you need to work out the profile of the type of person who would be able to assist your new friend on their journey. Usually very easy. It can be as crude and simple of getting them to finish off the sentence “I’m interested in meeting people who…” And that’s it! You need to add value to their lives first, and the law of the universe will look after you. Go forth and connect, and of course, as Nicholas says, “it only costs you a few keystrokes.”
I’m also starting a new movement and hopefully you’ll join me to make this whole connections business just that little bit more fun. When introducing people via email or whatever, try to create a "tabloidified" combination of their names. For example:
Brad + Angelina = Brangelina
Tom + Katie = TomKat
Ben + Jennifer = Bennifer.
The trick to it though, is to try to make it so that you’re not using the person’s entire name (although this can't be helped if one of the parties has only a monosyllabic name - see below). Suppose we have 4 characters then, Daniel, Robert, Dominic and Tran. Some possible permutations could be:
Danbert (Daniel + Robert)
Trandom (Tran + Dominic)
Robinic (Robert + Dominic)
Tranbert (Bertran would also suffice)
Think it’s stupid?
Trust me, it’s gonna catch on.
I welcome you to try it on at least once as it’s a brilliant ice-breaker for the two that haven’t yet met, and feel free to post your creative combinations below!
